Big Oil's Getting Cozy With Canada's Most Iconic Museum -- And People Are Upset.

The Canadian Museum of History takes money from the dirtiest oil lobby in the country -- the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). Now, thousands of people are calling on the Museum to stand on the right side of history and #CutCAPP.

It all started with a video.

The ball got rolling when 350.org released a video telling the story of young climate activist, Katie Perfitt. Katie visited the Museum of History as a child and, recently, she was appalled to find out about the Museum's close ties to Big Oil. In the video, Katie made a public call out for people across the country to join her in telling the Museum to cut its ties to Canada's most dangerous fossil fuel lobby -- CAPP.

It became pretty clear that CAPP is trying to use this sponorship to cover up its dirty work.

It didn't take long for people to start recounting all the ways in which the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has deceived the public, blocked climate legislation, dismantled environmental laws, and pushed an agenda that violates Indigenous rights. Clearly, sponsoring the Museum is an attempt to cover up these dirty dealings.

Thousands started calling on the Museum to cut ties to CAPP.

Within a few days, thousands of people across the country had signed the petition calling on the Museum of History to cut its ties to CAPP and they were pretty vocal about it on social media. The Museum's twitter was completely flooded with #CutCAPP tweets.

And at the Canadian Museums Association conference, oil sponsorship became a hot topic of discussion.

Finnsquare

When representatives from museums across the country convened in Ottawa for a conference, the Museum of History tried to use it as an opportunity to showcase a CAPP sponsored exhibit. Their plans were slightly derailed when demonstrators showed up at the event with a clear message: Big Oil has no place in our trusted museums. VIPs attending the event at the Museum stopped to chat with the demonstrators and many expressed disappointment regarding the close relationship with Big Oil.

It became clear that the Museum of History can follow the lead of others...

The conference became an opportunity to celebrate leaders like the Haida Gwaii Museum in BC which firmly opposes sponsorship from the fossil fuel industry. It became pretty clear that the Museum could follow the lead of such institutions.

Even international institutions started calling on the Museum of History to do better.

The Natural History Museum (facebook)

Visitors from the Natural History Museum called on the Museum of History to join the movement for a fossil free culture. Major cultural institutions like the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, and the Tate Modern, in London, were some of the first to join this movement by ending their sponsorship agreements with Big Oil.

Some big names chimed in too.

Acclaimed author and climate change activist, Bill McKibben, joined some other high profile friends in adding his voice to the choir of thousands calling for the Museum to stand on the Right Side of History.

So what's next?

We keep speaking up! On April 24th, decision makers at the Museum of History will hold their Annual General meeting. On that day, 350.org will deliver thousands of signatures calling them to cut ties to CAPP. This is the last year of the Museum’s sponsorship agreement with CAPP. Let’s seize this moment to seal CAPP’s fate at the Museum! Make sure you sign the petition and share it with your friends at rightsideofhistory dot ca.

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